How Guillermo Del Toro Was Cast in Barry: Bill Hader Explains

(Editor’s note: Included in the following interview light spoilers for “Barry” Season 4 Episode 3 “you’re a charm.”)

When NoHo Hank (Anthony Carrigan) needs to hire an assassin to kill Barry Berkman (Bill Hader), he sends Toro a text.

When Bill Hader needs to hire an actor to play the never-before-seen handler, he texts Guillermo Del Toro.

Who else?

“Guillermo sent me a funny message (asking) ‘Can I be in Barry?’ Hader explained how the three-time Oscar winner came to be in episode 3 of the HBO black comedy’s final season, “You’re Charm.” Del Toro has been a fan of the series for a long time, he says enthusiasm on Twitter a lot start — but Hader wasn’t sure how serious the director of “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “Pinocchio” was about joining the ensemble.

“I think he didn’t think I was going to (ask him),” Hader said. “Sometimes people say (they’d like to be on the show) but it never happens. But then I thought, “There’s actually a part I’d be really good at.” I called her and said, “Yes, I have a character for you. His name is Toro. And he said, Oh, man. Really?'”

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Hader uses the name Toro to illustrate how serious he is about casting the acclaimed writer-director. “I said, ‘Well, the character’s name is Toro,’ sort of saying, ‘Well, you have to do it now.’

It worked. After finding a time that worked with their schedules, Hader said he came to the set with Del Toro’s wife and Nightmare Alley co-writer Kim Morgan — “who is lovely and obviously an incredibly talented writer,” Hader said — to shoot the scene opposite him. . Carrigan and Michael Irby.

In context, Toro’s role is quite simple. He meets with Hank and Cristobal (Irby) to discuss how he is going to kill Barry. But the style and humor Del Toro brings to the brief opening of episode 3 to the heights that “Barry” is now accustomed to. HE Appear as if he had come out of nowhere, dressed in a burgundy coat, with a black fedora and a cane.

“He brought his own stick,” Hader said. “The guys who were in the scene with him were kind of in awe, like, ‘Oh my God, I’m Guillermo del Toro.’

Still, a question arose:

“I didn’t know if he could act or not,” Hader said.

As evidenced by past roles such as “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and his voice work on “Trollhunters” and “The Simpsons,” Del Toro knew what he was doing.

“We just didn’t have (that location) very long,” Hader said, “and we had to shoot a lot there. So we ran very fast. But it was great. He had two different views on it. We did both versions of the guy.”

It wasn’t until later that Hader realized his favorite aspect of Del Toro’s performance.

“(When) we were in the edit, we realized the funniest thing was watching him react,” Hader said. “When we were watching the full footage of him, his reaction made me laugh so much and I’m like, ‘I think we should cut this so it’s just his reaction shots and you just watch him digest the information. .’ And it was a lot of fun.”

Of course, an established filmmaker like Del Toro couldn’t come set it up and simply check his director’s hat at the door.

“He gave me crap about how I blocked (the scene),” Hader said. “Such. He said, ‘The eye lines don’t match because the lens is too wide.’ And I said, ‘Guillermo, it’s not really your call, man.'” (…) “Cate Blanchett didn’t tell you that shit in your latest film.”

“No, it was very sweet,” Hader said. “I remember afterwards he said, ‘You shoot fast. That’s good. Stick to it.””

Take it from Toro—one, if not both.

“Barry” airs new episodes every Sunday at 10:00 PM on HBO.

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